Top 25 best racing games for Android in 2023

Comfortably the finest pure racing experience, GRID Autosport offers a startlingly faithful premium console experience with some truly stunning 3D graphics. It feels as good as it would on a console, and the touch controls are nothing short of amazing.

So, what differentiates GRID from the rest of the racing games on this list? Besides the exceptional gameplay and realistic physics, it has a unique feature. You can turn back time! It's important because a crash here can leave your car broken, so you can reverse time for a few seconds and continue driving without making the same mistake again, hopefully. Of course, it has a limited number of uses, otherwise, it would just be a plain old cheating.

Not everyone likes realistic graphics and gameplay that resemble real life, as that doesn't feel like an escape from real life. You'll take a roll of Bill, a dude willing to climb the moon (literally) with his car just to have some fun. In his cartoonish world, this is legit.

On his journey, mostly up, he'll drive different vehicles. He'll start with jeeps and limousines, and end up riding monstrous Carantula! What's that? Well, a mix of a car and a tarantula, of course! Graphics is 2D and the game relies on physics, but it doesn't really follow it to the letter. You'll quickly catch how it works, no worries about that. Oh, and you can play it offline as soon as you download it, so that's a big plus.

Racing doesn't have to be constrained to the tarmac. Indeed, Reckless Racing 3 revels in the slidey delights that come from removing friction from the equation. It's a stunning title that prides itself on several reasons, including the smooth controls and spot-on genre touches.

You will find over twenty awesome vehicles, more than thirty unique routes, and fantastic game modes, such as arcade, career, and others. While it's not as conventional as the other first-person car sliding titles out there, it will leave you wanting more. More speed, that is. Just read our Reckless Racing 3 review - the dirt, drift, and obstacles are a must.

Physics and gravity are purely optional when it comes to Asphalt 9, a riotously OTT arcade title that can't help but make you smile. It's easy peasy to get into, and boy does it look pretty. It's a successor of one of the best racing games for Android of all times - Asphalt 8!

From shiny cars to expensive yet extremely rewarding tuning features, there's something for everyone. When you compare the graphics with the rest of the titles on this list, Asphalt will probably win by a small margin. Just read our Asphalt 9 review - it'll give you everything you need to get you started in this crazy and fast racer.

Horizon Chase enthusiastically subscribes to Sega's OutRun vision of arcade racing. If you've never encountered that before, think of bright blue skies, long sweeping bends, and plenty of improbable drifting. You can unlock more than 20 cars here and test them on approximately 100 exceptional maps, isn't that awesome?

Every old-school gamer will become nostalgic the moment they touch Horizon Chase, as it will certainly bring up some of the best memories. Did you know we have a review of Horizon Chase? Make sure to check it out if you want to know why this blocky, colourful title is something that you need to play today!

You don't drive any cars in Motorsport Manager 3, but it's still a brilliant title for fans of the genre. You play the part of a team manager, hiring and firing drivers, choosing tires, and investing in sponsors. You can instruct drivers to slow down or play aggressively during the race, but can't really impact the end result directly. To increase your winning chances, feel free to check our tips and tricks that will help you learn about the most fundamental aspects of the gameplay.

Do you normally enjoy simulation games? If you normally love racing but don't quite have the reflexes to keep yourself on the track while speeding 200 or 300 km/h, then a sim would most likely be something up your alley.

It might not look like any similar title you've ever played, but Data Wing is a thrilling example of the genre. Imagine a top-down racer with Lunar Lander spaceships in place of cars, and you'll begin to grasp the basics of this ingenious title.

With a stunning minimalistic approach, Data Wing offers a wholesome experience without the typical cars. Do you fancy Android racing games but want something slightly different? Try this one out.

It looks like Minecraft, but Blocky Roads builds its own physics racer universe with considerable style. Drive to the end of each track, keeping your car as upright and fuelled up as possible. Fair warning: it's more challenging than it first looks.

Ride this stunning blocky title into oblivion and pull out all the stunts you've got up your sleeve. If you think you've got what it takes, take it for a spin! Oh, and before you do that, read thereview of Blocky Road. You'll find all the answers you've been looking for over there.

CSR famously removes steering from the equation and focuses on going really fast in a straight line through well-timed gear shifts. In modern times, we call it drag racing! With less attention on the road, it can also focus on making its cars look amazing.

In our CSR Racing 2 tier list we've shared some extremely important intelon the cars, which are the major head-turning point. They're absolutely stunning and realistic, so if you love a neat-looking Mustang or AMG, you bet you can find them here.

Hutch Games turns its attention to the pure 3D arcade racer in Rebel Racing, with gloriously slick results. Stunning graphics and greatly streamlined controls make this title shine on mobile, despite it being a lot like many of the other racers on the list.

Collect beautiful cars that you can find in the real world and make them your own. Tune them up and take on other players with insane-looking drifts and epic overtakes. There's nothing quite like it, and as a free-to-play, it looks and feels perfect.

Proving you don't need cars to make a popular racing game, this beautiful free-roaming skiing sim places you into a seamless succession of twisty downhill point-to-point dashes. After all, whoever said this genre should be restricted to car-only?

Grand Mountain Adventure is a skiing experience that lets you enjoy sloping down the snow-covered mountains and around the trees, aiming to get the best-looking tricks out there. It is more of an open-world adventure with racing elements rather than one of the intense titles we've featured on this list, but nonetheless, an exceptional one.

Those who were left a little underwhelmed by Mario Kart's mobile showing will be thrilled with KartRider Rush+. And perhaps a little annoyed with Nintendo. This is how you cram a premium karting experience onto a tiny pocket device.

Many drivers, karts, pets and many other collectables will drive you to catch'em all, and that's only part of the fun. The other comes from the ever-so-satisfying races that leave you wanting more and more. It's a finely tuned adrenaline rush!

When the game brags it has more than 2.5 million custom car designs that you can apply, you can tell that the developers put a lot of thought and work into it. NFS: No Limits continues the path of their most popular title - Underground. You'll be able to drive some of the most expensive cars ever made, including Pagani, Bugatti, Koenigsegg, Lamborghini, McLaren, and a lot of others.

Prepare to run away from cops, play some drag races against other players and have fun in general. Car models look realistic and it's easy to recognise one from another if you're a car enthusiast. The gameplay is a bit arcade-ish as with most NFS titles, but it's all about having fun. Note that No Limits has plenty of pay-to-get mechanics, which might turn the F2P players away.

There are a few crucial differences between Traffic Rider and the rest of the Android racing games. First of all, it's featuring bikes instead of cars. Second, the camera is first person, which is rather unusual when it comes to mobile titles. Still, we are not featuring it for being unique and different, but because it's exceptional. You'll be able to pick around 30 motorbikes, each with its own perks and for the bike enthusiasts - all of the motor sounds are recorded with the real bikes! An exciting feature that's sure to crank up the atmosphere.

There are more than 70 campaign missions available at the moment and more than 30 achievements that you can unlock, you'll be able to thoroughly enjoy this driving game for a while.

F1 Clash is a technically brilliant representation of elite-level motor racing, but with welcome accessibility. If you love your F1, you'll love being able to partake in one (or more). F1 Clash does just that but does it brilliantly.

You'll be able to compete with some of your favourite drivers, from Hamilton to Vettel and Bottas, and compete against players from all around the world. It's exciting if you love professional races, and in case you need some help use this guide for F1 Clash. The developers are adding new content every once in a while, so all of the teams and drivers that are present in the F1 are featured.

Top Drives is a bit unusual mobile racer. Its gameplay doesn't rely upon your quick reflexes and eye-hand coordination, but rather tactics. You'll be actually playing with cards! If you think that's a boring concept, think again. You don't have to drive the car yourself, to feel the adrenaline rush!

Features almost two thousand (yes you read that right) cars that you can collect, that look stunning because the images are picked up from one of the biggest car magazines, making it a unique motorsport manager experience. You'll find different game modes, tracks, roads and of course, PVP is an integral part of it.

A brilliantly balanced title that combines authentic muck-specked simulation with intuitive arcade racing. It looks good, the touch controls are... good (for what could be considered touch controls) and the overall competitive element is there, and it's strong. You can build your garage and collect and upgrade many different cars.

We've loved playing it so much, that we even got a Rush Rally 3 review, that passed out inquiries with flying colours. It deserves the spot on the list of best Android racing games, and it might deserve one in your pocket too!

A fun online side-scrolling platform-racer from the legendary Halfbrick Studios, in which characters from Jetpack Joyride, Fruit Ninja, and Dan the Man face off against one another. If you need fun gameplay to enjoy together with friends, it is probably one of the best options, with many races, character upgrades, and exciting weekly events.

It's a fresh breather from the four-wheel racers that we've overwhelmed this list with, so if you are looking for a competitive title that doesn't require fancy-looking fast cars to shine, check it out.

In a slew of car racing and driving games on Android, one motorbike title rises above them all... Trials: Frontier. The mobile version of the critically acclaimed Trials series, Trials Frontier sees players speed, flip, and crash across a wide variety of courses and terrains peppered with weird and wonderful physics-based obstacles. It's utterly bonkers.

It may not be for hardcore series veterans as our attests, but it's fun, cartoonish, ridiculous, and perfect for a bus ride home. Sometimes you just want a casual title to relax, right? Download Trials: Frontier (free)

It's more of a driving simulator than a racing one, but if you prefer your automotive action to be down and dirty, MudRunner is here for you. It's a largely feature-complete console port, with some of the best driving physics around. It is a perfect sim to test your driving skills because you will have to deal here with some truly problematic locations, especially for driving.

It also has some massive monster trucks that you will love dragging through the mud - we're sure of it. It's a wholesome offroad experience that is worth its price point. If you love that kind of driving game, that is.

Fans of Crash Team Racing and Mario Kart will feel right at home with this one. Even though it's leaning a bit more onto the side of CTR gameplay-wise. In case you haven't heard of either of these titles, they are wonderfully competitive racers where driving is as important as using abilities you find throughout the race.

It's the same with Beach Buggy Racing. Its graphics reminds of early PS1 titles, and gameplay is very easy to learn, but mastering the abilities with racing also in mind will take a bit of practice. You'll drive your car in the third person, as there is also a strong focus on drivers. Cars are cartoonish with sweet details, and it makes the game suitable for both younger and older audiences. We have to recommend you use the controller for this one as steering and aiming will be much easier.

Another NFS title that we are featuring, but this time it's a premium racing game. If you've played the console or PC version prior to the mobile, you'll notice that the free roam mode is missing. Still, this doesn't take away the enjoying feeling of driving around 40 different cars that you can customise, because it wouldn't be an NFS without customisations.

Jokes aside, controls as crispy and responsive, although it has a somewhat limited choice of controllers. Another thing to note is that the NFS: Most Wanted doesn't have a cloud-saving option, so if you decide to play it on different devices, you won't be able to continue your progress, which can hinder your progress. Not a big deal if you're playing on one phone anyway.

Nintendo's signature kart racer screeches onto mobile. While it's far from perfect, and perhaps a little too casual and 'freemium' for Nintendo die-hards, there's no doubt that its one-finger controls still feel like Mario Kart. And yes, it's a serious racing game even though it looks cartoonish.

It's one of our favourites, and the old-school phone and joypad doom - no one can count how many devices died because of the turtle that caught them up right before they were about to cross the finish line.

If you're interested already, our tier list of best karts and best drivers in Mario Kart Tour will both come in handy.

A brilliantly bizarre drifting game that sees you producing wobbly bean curd product through the medium of pinpoint car drifting. Don't ask why. Just slide. It's a beautiful ode to Initial D, the anime which started off with the character delivering tofu to restaurants without damaging it.

Tofu Drifter is, essentially, that, but with a rather 3D approach where you get to take in the beautiful scenery within. If you haven't heard of Initial D (the anime) but love everything related to the genre, it's worthing testing it out, since the game is free. It'll leave you thinking about Tofu Drifter non-stop.

Remember the old Micro Machines from the '90s? Table Top Racing is like those, with tracks set across various domestic scenes. The key difference is that the view has been zoomed right in like the polished modern racer it is. It's a minimalistic title worth checking out if you're into the scene and retro motors.

You'll be racing over the tables of a sushi restaurant, with cucumbers still lying around and hipster environments with old cassette players and Tesla balls. To make it even more fun, you'll pick up random weapons, as you do in Mario Kart, and then devastate your opponents, or at least try to. It's not all about racing here, there is some merit in good aim as well. This is what really separates it from similar titles on the list.

With this one, we are closing out our list of the best racing games for Android. We hope that you found something to satisfy your thirst for speed! For those of you that are iOS enthusiasts, you can use the list of finest racing games for iPhone.